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Ryu poured us each a cup of coffee, and I reached for a croissant even though I’d already had breakfastNo point in going hungry, after all, hed, contentedly

"I don’t knohat to say," he answered, finally "Jakes could have hidden so like that froenuinely didn’t ratedeal But I’ve met Jakes, and he wasn’t a psychopath that I could tell Although I guess that psychopaths don’t usually advertise theut instinct is that you’re right, and that Jakes didn’t kill the halflings Especially since he was also murdered and that Gretchen and Martin were murdered after hith from his cup "I just really don’t want to contemplate the idea that Jimmu is the one who murdered the about the repercussions of Jiht or not What we need to do is figure out hoe prove whether it was Jimmu, and then we can take it from there"

We drank our coffee in silence I helped myself to another croissant

"Lucky Jimmu went out today, isn’t it?" I commented, as Ryu poured himself another cup He blanched at lar clothes," he said, quaffing his coffee before standing up "After all, I do look pretty hot in a ski mask"

The lock clicked open with a snick, and we held our breath When no one yelled at us from inside the room, we exhaled I took another surreptitious look around the hallway as Ryu pushed open the door to Ji the door after ourselves Ryu turned on the lights and we looked around to get our bearings Jimmu’s rooms were just like the ones shared by Ryu androom And despite the fact that these rooms served as Jimmu’s only home, they were equally as impersonal as ours

"Where’d you learn to pick locks?" I hissed at Ryu "And why doesn’t Ji sort"

"I’ this, I could tell Since we’d left our rooht not like the exact circumstances, but he was definitely a htwalker can’t pick a lock? And as for security, this is a public coet in and out of these rooain in overall security living in the Compound, you lose in privacy" He pointed to the bedroom "You look in there, I’ll look in here"

I pokedbefore I walked in So side of the bed But the roo room I started with the bathrooel and a sliver of soap lying in the dish, was co There were a few pairs of underpants, mismatched dark socks, and some wife-beaters in one drawer of the bureau In the closet hung a few pairs of ripped-up jeans and a few T-shirts I started to close the door, when I noticed that there was so on the top shelf

I pulled the little armchair from the corner of the rooet a closer look On the highest shelf, in the very far corner, I caught a glie of a steel box I stretched out my hand, unsure whether or not I’d even be able to reach, and nearly grazed the lid But just as I was about to make contact, I felt that tiny un not to risk it

"Ryu," I called "Ioff his hands "Nothing in there," he said "Jiuy What do you have in here?"

"I don’t know," I answered "There’s a box up on this shelf, but I didn’t want to touch it I think it’s whaicked I could feel the tingle"

Ryu got up beside s suddenly extended

"Jane, get off the chair"

I got doithout hesitation I took commands well, when they sounded like that

Ryu’s hands hovered on either side of the box as he concentrated I felt the hairs on the back of htly as the poirled around him

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably about thirty seconds, he chuckled, sounding very pleased with hi the box off the shelf and jus, not touching that," he said, as he set the box down on Jimmu’s bed "If you had, you would have blown up not only yourself but a substantial section of this part of the Co me So how did you open it?"

"Boxes are ood at opening things"